Bridgeport Dam is a great little lake for bass in southwest Pennsylvania
Bob Frye
July 27, 2026
Commentary: The Roadless Rule is under attack
When I draw a hunting tag, especially for elk, one of the first things I do is pull out a map. I look for public land – and then I look for roads, because that’s where the elk aren’t.
That’s because elk need food, water, and a secure place to bed – and that usually means being miles from any open roads. Want to fill your freezer? Find the roadless area.
The Roadless Rule was written for hunters like me. And for anglers – because roadless areas provide crucial native habitat, protecting fish that have never seen the inside of a hatchery.
For folks like me, being a sportsman isn’t a hobby – it’s who we are. My kids grew up eating from the land, and that requires knowing how to chase an elk or the right waters for fly fishing.
So when I tell you roadless areas – and everything depending on them – are under serious threat, hear me out.
For 25 years, the Roadless Rule has protected nearly 58 million acres – from the Appalachians to the Rockies, from the Croatan National Forest in North Carolina to the Ponderosa Pines of the Santa Fe National Forest in my home state. These are the backcountry places where we hunt, fish, and pass our traditions to the next generation.
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When the rule was first crafted, the Forest Service held more than 600 public meetings, including one I attended. Over 1.6 million comments poured in – more than 95% in favor. You could poll Americans on apple pie and not get that kind of consensus.
That support hasn’t changed. When the Trump Administration proposed repealing the rule in fall 2025, 625,000 people commented, with 99% opposed. Americans have been clear. Repeatedly. Across party lines.
So what’s the problem? Well, Senate Republicans just tucked a repeal of the Roadless Rule inside a bipartisan wildfire prevention bill. A Trojan Horse – because they know they’d lose if the public had a real say.
Their cover story is that the Roadless Rule blocks wildfire management. It doesn’t.
Eighty-five percent of wildfires are human-caused, and 78% of those ignite within half a mile of a road. More roads mean more fires – not fewer. The Forest Service’s own data shows roadless areas account for 34% of all fuel treatment activity while covering only 21% of national forest tree cover. We’ve treated over four million acres of hazardous fuels inside roadless areas without building permanent roads.
If Republicans cared about wildfire prevention, they’d tackle the Forest Service’s $10.8 billion maintenance backlog – more than half of it tied to roads already falling apart. We can’t maintain what we have. Building more would be reckless.
But this Trojan Horse was never about wildfire. It’s about handing public lands to extractive industry while cutting the rest of us out. Hunters and anglers alone generate $133 billion in annual economic output and 1.3 million jobs. The outdoor recreation economy tops $1 trillion a year. Fragment these places, and you don’t just lose the experience – you lose the economy.
Our public lands are the anvil on which our American identity is forged – the backcountry campsites, the wild trout streams, the elk country where we pass traditions from one generation to the next. Without the Roadless Rule, many of those places won’t survive.
This is one of the defining conservation fights of this Congress. Contact your senators and representatives. And when the next comment period is open, we need you to make your voice heard. Our public lands are OURS. Let’s keep it that way.
Sen. Heinrich (D-N.M.) is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and an avid hunter and angler.
Editor’s note: Trout Unlimited has a “Take Action” page that makes it easy for the public to contact their representatives in Congress regarding the Roadless Rule. Visit that page by following the link above.
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40 thoughts on “Commentary: The Roadless Rule is under attack”
Thank you Senator Heinrich for penning this excellent piece!! The Trump administration is all about making money now and the future be dawned! Please everyone, call, text and post on Facebook your dissatisfaction with this rider trying to be snuck into existence.
This article about Elk needing areas without road is pure BS. I suggest you drive on NM highway 82 through the National Forest and count the number of Elk on or near the highway. Don’t do it a night as hitting a 1500 lb. Elk can do bad things to your vehicle.
Roads in Wilderness area are needed for access in the event of a fire. That does not mean a paved road, just access. Forest Service and BLM have a long history of miss-management and all their land to be reverted back to the State.
I don’t understand the last sentence. What about land “reverted back?” BLM wants or doesn’t want? You think is good or not good? Are you an educated conservationist or observational recreationist? It is not clear to me and I am very interested as unfortunately I have l never been out at night riding in forests. TY.
Throughout the US west many roads route through national forest land. I can acknowledge that elk are indeed seen frequently along back roads as well as along major highways. Elk do not have a problem with roads or road traffic–personal experience. Sen Heinrich and Mr Wood are clearly in error in that point.
are you advocating for the destruction of our public lands and outdoors, especially at a time when forests are burning and trees are dying from invasive bugs and our waters are drying up? they are going to mine and drill and privatize those gains while we pay for the cleanup and healthcare expenses. wake up
@ Ralph Gonzalez – BRAVO, sir!!! You are obviously in possession of common sense AND a working brain, which are both becoming more and more rare these days, especially when we read this kind of blather from Sen. Heinrich. The enlightened senator is about as much of an avid “hunter and fisherman” as I am an avid, slimey politician who wants Americans to believe that all conservatives want to throw granny off the cliff because we don’t want good healthcare, we want dirty, polluted water, to ruin natural resources with paved roads, and ruin wilderness areas while we plunder it for natural resources. As one of the leading opponents of our 2nd amendment rights, I bet the senator hasn’t hunted elk or anything, or fished in our state more than once or twice in the past 20 years. Thank you for speaking THE truth, sir!!
I agree with you 100%. The senator pretends to be a hunter and outdoorsman but doesn’t know the difference between a recoil operated semi-automatic rifle/shotgun and a gas operated semi-automatic rifle/shotgun. He voted to outlaw gas operated rifles and shotguns yet in one of his ads he’s posing with a Remington 1100 which is a gas operated semi-automatic shotgun.
God forbid the senator actually look at his state and being worst for poverty , education, and crime. All while being one of the smallest populations. Too bad Heinrich was too worried about the lobbyists. INSTEAD OF NEW MEXICANS!! Sort of like the e mail I got from him about fighting for Minnesota.
Thank you Senator Heinrich for penning this excellent piece!! Please fight it!!!
Heinrich should not have voted to confirm Doug Burgum for Interior secretary 😡
The Republican Party is a cancer on our country . The attack on our rights, our national monuments, and disregard for hard won principles. This administration’s puppet regime is a disgrace. every hard working citizen has been attacked and abused by tax increases. tariffs. setbacks in energy development. and environmental impact will affect generations to come. The disregard for civil rights is shameful, and the republican leadership has allowed the president to use his power for self enrichment, at a level never seen before.
Thank you for your service and leadership. Jerry Pait
What a stupid response. Instead of using your intelligence (?) to construct a positive response to Mr. Hienrich’s article you have chosen to go on a political response that is inane and worthless politics that helps solve nothing. Go away if you cannot say something useful.
You are a fool. There, I have said something useful.
No definitely fuck republicans, all of em!
I think it is essential to highlight the importance of these roadless areas in protecting wildlife and the environment. We need these untouched areas to thrive so our environment can remain stable around us. Hunting and fishing are pastimes that should be protected, but the wildlife and natural resources in these roadless areas are important for future generations and can only thrive if left untouched. Thank you for fighting a bill that would exacerbate the decline of our natural habitats.
We must communicate with others who need to understand what the truth of this matter is. I am a republican that fights for our right to have the rights to legally enjoy the beauty of our wilderness. There is no further need to follow the old paradym of cutting down protected forests and further the destruction of our protected lands for resources for the profit of the few. Be aware that this is a time to stand up and enforce the right to stop this and other bills that would ruin what is left. Thank you for fighting for roadless areas !
Vote for merit not for party
Fill the sky with smoke from old fashion 19th century coal fired steam engines used for generating electricity to power the grid and keep air conditioners powered up during the warmer months. Add additional smoke in the sky from wildfires sparked by human intention falsely claiming global warming is the source of wildfires and the polluted air we are all forced to breathe. Replace them old fashion dirty coal fired steam engines with smokeless renewable energy sources provided by wind and solar to energize the electric grid.
Thank you Martin Heinrich for bringing this to our attention! I am grateful that you are there in the Senate watching out for our public lands. I am an avid trail rider. The roadless areas are all that’s left for the animals and for our connection with nature. I am standing up and shouting, No!!! to opening up our public lands to more roads and mining which will of course will come next.
Save the “Roadless Rule”.
I, too, want to save the Roadless Rule. It is important for the future of our children.
Save the roadless rule!
A public hearing would definitely defeat this initiative. What’s the number of the wild fire access bill so we can reference it when we express our opposition?
Save the Roadless Rule!
This is a hurdle that they need removed before they start to pillage Our natural resources and destroy the environment as we know it.
Another shameful attempt to destroy the beauty and future of irreplaceable natural resources. It must be stopped!
The Roadless Rule is a critical part piece of wilderness management. It benefits all flora and fauna species, non-game and game, protects watersheds and provides solitude for millions of Americans that enjoy nature. Recreational vehicle tech innovation is relentless; constantly making faster more powerful vehicles capable of increased environmental damage. In my lifetime I have watched the transformation of four wheel drive trucks, ATVs, UTVs, motorcycles, snowmobiles from utility vehicles to powerful racing machines. There are now even high speed unauthorized off road vehicle “flash rally races” on unpaved public land roads. I am not a barefoot hair shirt hermit of the woods. I own a truck, hunt, fish and forage for food. I also mt. bike, hike and backcountry ski. The roadless rule is the only way to protect our remaining wildlands. Senator Heinrich, thank you for your conservation efforts, vigilance and tireless support of the American Wilderness.
Roadless areas should be protected not only for the benefit to wildlife and the environment, but for hunters, fishermen, and those wanting to enjoy these untouched areas. Moreover, the wildlife and natural resources in these roadless areas are important for future generations. Thank you Senator Heinrich for your leadership and speaking out on this critical legislation.
Save the Roadless Rule. We need to eliminate the Republican Party however. They are Trump villains.
This is not a party issue.
This is about preserving our wildlife and natural landscape.
I support leaving our forest and lands alone
I love to hike into areas that are still beautiful and pristine. The current administration is all about money and greed. They don’t care about preserving our beautiful country. Please don’t let them repeal the Roadless Rule!
Fuck tRump!!
Dang GOD r u that perfect???
From the mind and mouth of a dyed-in-the-wool Marxist/socialist progressive, hater of God, suffering from stage 4 TDS! The Bible tells us that it is appointed to man once to die, but after this, the judgement. On that day, you’ll face God, as you stand before the White Thrown of Judgement. Then, it will be too late!!
I really hate to tell you liberals this but Oregon is trying to outlaw hunting and fishing. I am an independant and so far only agree with closing our boarder and eliminating the trans / gay agenda which is just another thing democrats politacise to increase their voter base. Not having any road access into forest provides no way to access them for fire prevention but I wonder what the real reason is to abolish the law.
The Roadless Rule is a good, sensible, and ecologically sound law. We need areas that are free of fossil fuel pollution, areas that are safe to walk and wander in nature, unmolested by motorists who are in such a hurry to get wherever that common sense is left behind.
Unfortunately there is very little information here about the Roadless Rule and how the Republican proposal would change it. It’s a RahRah article about general ideas with no specific information.
If a foreign country wants to drill for oil in Yellowstone or RMNP I’m certainly against it.
But if a US company wants to mine rare-earths in God-forsaken area where Kali, Nevada and Arizona meet (near the know sites for rare earths from previous mining). I think we should look at that to break the China monopoly on rare-earths that holds the world’s high tech hostage.
I’m glad we have a lot of roadless areas but in the 25 years since this rule was passed the US population added 64 Million people. We need to manage our people as well as our land. And we most certainly need to manage illegal immigration.
I enjoy wilderness areas. In 1973 I did my first wilderness canoe/camping in the BWCA, I enjoyed helicopter skiing in the BC wilderness and I’ve skied 200 miles north of the artic circle in Sweden. It’s all a balancing act between preserving and enjoying the outdoors vs development for national needs and an ever-growing population which is now dominated by immigration both legal and illegal.
The senator’s article has no details so it is impossible to judge the merits of his arguments vs the republican legislation. Save as much roadless area as we reasonably can but balance it against national security and increasing population including all the illegals that the senator’s party seem to favor.
As a former logging road engineer for the Fed. Hwy. Admin. & U.S. Forest Service, I applaud Sen. Heinrich’s article. Once poorly engineered and constructed logging roads are built in Roadless Areas, they often fail due to deferred maintenance, dumping sediment & debris into trout and salmonid streams, smothering spawning grounds & muddying water. Many new roads are barely finished before the outlaw motorcyclists and OHV enthusiasts discover them. The noisy intrusion of motorized vehicles into recently roaded Roadless Areas can disperse large ungulates that many hunters prefer. Tens of thousands miles of logging roads are not passable at all, ignored after the timber was accessed and cut, presently bleeding and eroding. Remember: Heaven is a Roadless Area, and logging roads eventually go to hell!
I’m not a hunter or fisher but I understand what this means to those who are. I’m certain the Senate will vote to stop the wildfire prevention Bill. Thank you for your work to stop the Republican “crazies”.
Senator, thank you so much for this article and getting the news out to the public. I will be ready to comment. I’m an active outdoors person and exploring New Mexico off-road is just amazing. However our wildernesses cannot withstand anymore roads, rough or otherwise. We’re behind you and your colleagues in fighting full out for our country’s bounty of nature
Can you imagine a infusion of motor bikes, quads, and other noise machines
in the forest? The forest would join the other places where wildlife ceases to exist. Most everywhere else.
Wish you would run for president Sen. Heinrich! We need great leadership and you could certainly provide that.